2015_08_15_VB_Urbach_Alexis_Ready_Position_670

Women's Volleyball 9/26/2015 3:50:00 PM

Volleyball Travels To Davis, Hosts #11 Hawai'i On ESPN3 This Week

Highlanders In Week Six

at UC Davis

Wednesday, September 30 at 7:00 pm

Live Stats

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vs. Hawai'i

Saturday, October 3 at 6:00 pm

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Watch Live On ESPN3

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Davis, CA—The UC Riverside Volleyball Team, off to its best start since the 2005 season, plays a pair of Big West Conference matches this week beginning with a Wednesday, September 30 road trip to UC Davis at 7 pm PT, followed by a Saturday, October 3 meeting with nationally-ranked Hawai'i at the SRC Arena on ESPN3 starting at 6 pm.

The Highlanders improved to 6-8 on the season, and 1-0 in conference, with a 3-2, come-from behind victory over Cal State Fullerton on Friday night (box score/recap) Trailing two sets to one, and 19-12 in the fourth, UC Riverside stormed back to close out the match in front of the ninth largest home crowd in the team's Division I history.

Five different Highlanders recorded double-digit kills on the night led by Alexis Urbach's 18. Urbach leads the team in kills with 140 and is one of four Highlanders averaging more than two kills per set—Helena Peric (2.81), Urbach (2.69), ALex Gresham (2.13) and Fabiana Rosas (2.12).

Maddie Hubbell's 247 digs and 4.66 digs per set are tops in the Big West, and Chelsea Doyle is fifth in the conference in assists per set with 8.09.

UC Davis is 5-11 on the year and 0-2 in conference, having lost four straight matches. Two of their losses this year are to top-25 competition—No. 12 Colorado State (3-0) and No. 5 Nebraska (3-0). The Aggies opened Big West play with a 3-0 loss at Long Beach State before falling at CSUN by a score of 3-1.

Kaylin Squyres' 4.51 kills per set are tops on the team, and UC Davis has two other players averaging more than two kills per set—Allie Wegener (2.73) and Kendall Walbrecht (2.05). Walbrecht is also the top blocker on the squad with 60 on the year. The Aggies utilize two setters in Sophia Mar (6.22) and Maddie Merlino (4.79).

The Highlanders are 32-18-2 all-time against UC Davis, but have lost six straight in the series.

Hawai'i enters the week ranked 11th in the nation with a 12-1 overall record including 2-0 in the Big West. The Rainbow Wahine's lone loss of the year came at the hands of UCLA. Seven of Hawai'i's wins have been in straight sets including both of their victories in conference. Cal State Fullerton is on tap on October 2 for the Rainbow Wahine, prior to their match against UC Riverside.

Nikki Taylor leads the Hawai'i offensive attack average 4.74 kills per set. Olivia Magill (2.62), Tai Manu-Olevao (2.56) and Kalei Greeley (2.02) are also averaging better than two kills per set. Tayler Higgins is the team's primary setter with 10.09 assists per set, while Olivia Magill leads three members of the team who average more than a block per set with 1.58.

The Highlanders have never beaten the Rainbow Wahine, but in their most recent meeting meeting on November 28, 2014, UC Riverside took the first set off of the perennial NCAA championship contenders before falling three sets to one.

Highlanders vs. Aggies and Rainbow Wahine
	UC Riverside		UC Davis	Hawai'i
2015 Record & Stats	6-8, 1-0		5-11, 0-2	12-1, 2-0
	Roster		Roster	Roster
	Schedule		Schedule	Schedule
Conference	Big West		Big West	Big West
Current Streak	W 1		L 4	W 7
Most Recent Box Score	W, 3-2 vs. Cal State Fullerton		L, 3-1 at CSUN	W, 3-0 vs. Cal Poly
Next Opponent	October 6 at Long Beach State		October 4 at UC Irvine	October 9 vs. CSUN
Top Attacker		Helena Paric Junior 102 K, 2.76 K/S, .222 Pct.	Kaylin Squyres Senior 266 K, 4.51 K/S, .202 Pct.	Nikki Taylor Sophomore 218 K, 4.74 K/S, .301 Pct.
Top Setter		Chelsea Doyle Freshman 382 A, 7.96 A/S	Sophia Mar Barton Junior 361 A, 6.22 A/S	Tayler Higgins Senior 464 A, 10.09 A/S
Top Blocker		Alex Gresham Sophomore 38 TB, 0.79 B/S	Kendall Walbrecht Senior 60 TB, 1.02 B/S	Olivia Magill Sophomore 71 TB, 1.58 B/S
Record vs.			32-18-2 (results)	0-17 (results)
Current Streak vs.			L 6	L 17

GAME NOTES
QUICK OUT OF THE GATE
At 6-8, the Highlanders are off to their best start since the 2005 season.

Year	Record Through 14 Matches	Final Record
2005	11-3	16-11
2004	9-5	11-18
2001	8-6	10-17
2003	7-7	9-20
2015	6-8

TWO YEARS IN ONE
The Highlanders surpassed their combined win total from the past two seasons in just the 11th match of the year (5-6 in 2015, 2-26 in 2014, 2-26 in 2013).

THE COMEBACK KIDS
UC Riverside trailed two sets to one at San Jose State on August 28, but battled back to win the match, three sets to two. That marked the first time the Highlanders had come back from that kind of deficit to win since September 14, 2012 vs. Florida Atlantic.

On September 25, the Highlanders again roared back from a two-sets-to-one deficit, but this time they also trailed in the fourth vs. Cal State Fullerton, 19-12. They took the fourth set 31-29 and won the fifth, 15-10.

GETTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
The Highlanders won their first Big West Conference match of the season for the first time since 2005 with a 3-2 victory over Cal State Fullerton on September 25. The 2002 and 2003 UCR squads also won their first conference matches of the year, but the Highlanders have never begun Big West play with victories in their first two matches.

INDY 500
The Highlanders 3-2 victory over Cal State Fullerton on September 25 was witnessed by 510 rabid UC Riverside fans—the ninth highest attended match in the Division I history of the program.

Date	Opponent	Attendance
September 24, 2011	CSUN	745
September 27, 2014	#25 Hawai'i	731
October 27, 2001	Long Beach State	625
September 21, 2012	#7 Hawai'i	594
October 4, 2002	Long Beach State	586
October 26, 2001	UC Irvine	575
September 3, 2008	#6 UCLA	535
November 17, 2001	Cal State Fullerton	513
September 25, 2015	Cal State Fullerton	510

FRESHMAN SENSATION
Alex Gresham was named to the Big West All-Freshman Team in 2014, becoming the fifth Highlander to be so honored (Ashley Cox, 2012; Megan Reza, 2011; Jamie DeKiewiet, 2002; Shannon Burmaster, 2001)

BLUE AND GOLD DIGGER
Sophomore Maddie Hubbell ranked eighth in the Big West in digs per set last season with 3.59. She currently leads the conference in total digs (229) and in digs per set (4.77). Should Hubbell maintain her digs per set average she will rank fourth in single-season digs per set in the program's Division I history.

She was named Big West Defensive Player of the Week for her performance from August 31-September 6. She is the first Highlander to receive a weekly award since Amanda Vialpando in 2011.

Digs Per Set (min. 100)
Sheryl Benson	5.7	1988
Leanna Clark	5.1	1988
Melanie Jones	5.0	1987
Maddie Hubbell	4.77	2015
Janna Stern	4.5	1998

ALL-TOURNEY TEAMS
The Highlanders recorded five All-Tournament caliber performances during the non-conference portion of their schedule. Chelsea Doyle, Alex Greshman and Fabiana Rosas opened the season by being named to the San Jose State All-Tournament Team (story). Maddie Hubbell earned All-Tournament honors at the Bulldog Showdown (story). Helena Peric was named to the Grand Canyon Invitational All-Tournament Team (story).

SWEPT UP
The Highlanders three-set win over Savannah State on September 6, 2014 (box score/recap) was the first sweep for UC Riverside since a 3-0 victory over Villanova on September 15, 2012 (box score/recap).

PLEADING THE FOURTH AND FIFTH
The Highlanders played to four or five sets in 13 of 28 matches last season. The 2004, 2007 and 2012 squads all played 15 matches to four or five sets to claim the UCR Division I mark.

This season, UC Riverside has played to four or five sets in eight out of its first 14 matches.

LET THERE BE HEIGHT!
Of the eight newcomers to the Highlanders 2015 squad, five are taller than 6-0, giving UC Riverside eight 6-footers overall, and its highest percentage of 6-footers in the Division I history of the program.

(ALMOST) OVER THE RAINBOW
UC Riverside took the first set from nationally-ranked Hawai'i in the last match of the 2014 season, 25-19. It marked the first time the Highlanders had won a set against the Rainbow Wahine since 1984, spanning 20 sets. UCR also nearly topped Hawai'i in the second set of their September 27 meeting, but the Rainbow Wahine eked out a 29-27 victory.

GENERAL PATTON-(COLEMAN)
UC Riverside is in its third season under new head coach Michelle Patton-Coleman. Patton-Coleman came to the Highlanders following five seasons at San Francisco State, where she took over a program that lay dormant for four years (2004-07). The Gators advanced to two NCAA Tournaments during her tenure including a 21-9 mark in 2012 which included a program-record 16 conference victories.